The Couple Bickering on the Top Floor
by Scarlett Oakenshield
Summary: A simple, fluffy series of connected and disconnected shorts about Kotetsu and Barnaby living domestically together as a couple in Barnaby's apartment. There is also some light/implied Nathan/Antonio on the side and there'll possibly be some Karina/Pao-Lin too.
1. Chapter 1

**The Couple Bickering on the Top Floor**

An Account of the Domestic Life of Tiger and Barnaby

* * *

 _ **A/N: A fluffy series of connected and disconnected shorts about Kotetsu and Barnaby living domestically as a couple in a shared apartment. Pre-Established Tiger x Bunny. I just thought of this and I'll update it whenever plot bunnies decide to attack me.**_

* * *

It was after the affair with Virgil that the duo finally decided to move into together. They had been referring to one another as partners for quite some time now. However, they only recently discovered what that really meant, as they had just figured out that they had romantic feelings for one another. So, thus, they were officially romantic partners now. However, they had yet to make their relationship known to the public, but it was only a short matter of time. After some debate with Agnes and Mr. Lloyds, along with some help from Ben, they had come to an agreement that they'd be given a week to settle in, and then they'd be ready to "Go Public".

At first, Kotetsu had been a bit unsure about the two of them becoming a couple. Yeah, he liked his little Bunny…he liked him a lot…but every time he thought about becoming romantically involved with him, the questions "How would Tomoe feel about this and How would Kaede feel about this?" repeated in his head like a mantra. It was so bothersome that he ended up asking his mother for her advice.

"Kotetsu," she had said, "You and I both know that Tomoe would want you to be happy. I'm sure she's smiling down upon you right now and she's glad that you've reached a point of acceptance and you're ready to move on. I also think that it would be a good thing for Kaede to have two parents in her life, especially when she enters those rough teenage years."

Ma was right, of course.

He also talked to Kaede about it as well. Much to his surprise, she was ecstatic more than anything. She was happy that her dad was happy, or so she had said. (Although he knew it was probably because it was Barnaby Brooks Jr. who was her father's partner. Anyone else, she probably would have felt some sort of resentment to and she probably would have had a much harder time accepting it.) It didn't even bother her that Barnaby was much younger than Kotetsu either.

Anyway, everything ended up working out well, and now here they were: Tiger and Bunny- moving day.

Mr. Lloyds had been nice enough to give them a couple of days off so that they could move in.

-xXx-

After a brief debate, they had decided they'd be moving into Barnaby's apartment for the time being. It was a bit bigger, and it had a much nicer view than Kotetsu's duplex. His cozy little apartment was currently a disaster. Clothing and belongings strewn about and boxes…boxes everywhere. They were all stacked with a bunch of random things that he forgot he owned.

"I don't think I've ever seen so much Mr. Legend memorabilia in one person's collection before." Barnaby said dryly as he put some old VHS tapes into one of the empty boxes.

"Well, what can I say? He was my hero, y'know." Kotetsu grinned widely.

"Yeah, yeah. This is about the hundred millionth time you told me." Barnaby replied as he continued to pack the boxes.

Kotetsu frowned.

"So are you just gonna stand there leaning against the wall or are you gonna help me pack your things?"

"But Bunny!" Kotetsu half whined, "We've been working all morning, I think it's about time we took a lunch break."

Barnaby's stomach growled as he set another stack of VHS tapes into the box.

"Fine." he sighed ran a hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair.

"So who's turn is it to make fried rice? I forgot."

Barnaby chuckled. "I'll do it."

"K. I'll grab drinks. What do you want?"

"We should both be drinking water since we're working."

"Fine. If you wanna be boring about it."

"It's not boring, it's staying hydrated." Bunny scoffed and then went to pantry cupboards to get out what he needed.

"Right." With that, Kotetsu grabbed their two glasses from the side of the sink and filled them with ice and water from the fridge. He then walked them over to the messy coffee table and swept some things away to make room for their lunch.

He tried to pack away some more things into the boxes, one of them being the family photo of himself, Tomoe, and a very tiny Kaede, which he carefully set face down on top of a cushion of package peanuts. He filled up the rest of the box with a myriad of other random items, and closed it and pushed it to the corner of the room where the rest of the full boxes were. He then decided that he was bored, so he walked into the kitchenette where his little Bunny was preparing lunch.

He was focusing intently as he cooked the rice, not paying attention to anything else around him. His brows were furrowed, and his resting face was serious and unsmiling. Kotetsu, being the goofball that he was, decided to bug him. He walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his chin in the crook of the blonde's neck.

Barnaby glanced over his shoulder with bright green eyes. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face before he turned back to the rice and shook his head.

 _Yes! He's making_ _ **that**_ _face again! The one that says "You're being cute but I'm not going to admit that out loud because I'm a stubborn, moody little Bunny."_

"Kotetsu, how do you expect me to cook like this?"

The older man blew on a strand of dark hair that whisped over an amber eye before he slowly let go of the blonde and hopped up onto the counter. He swung his legs over the edge and watched Barnaby cook, listening to the hissing of the food as it cooked.

-xXx-

After the rice was finished, the two men could be found sitting on the sofa, quietly enjoying their lunch in a companionable silence. Kotetsu had the tendency to scarf down his food rather fast, while Barnaby ate slowly and daintily, and then took the time to sip his water from a straw.

When he finally finished eating, he set his empty plate down on the coffee table, and the two spent a few moments sitting, cuddling on the couch together.

Kotetsu might have dozed off for a bit, because he was rudely awakened by a voice followed by the door slamming open.

"You boys better not be doing anything kinky in there, especially since your door is partially open!"

 _THUMP!_

Kotetsu jumped a mile and Barnaby stiffened. Both pairs of eyes turned towards the door and in strutted five of their six coworkers. The only one who was not present was Karina. Though, she'd been moodier than usual lately for whatever reason, so maybe not having her around wouldn't be so bad.

Nathan and Antonio led the group, followed closely by Pao-Lin and Ivan, with Keith trailing behind them, carrying a pile of empty boxes.

"Bison, did you just kick my door in?" Kotetsu questioned knowingly.

"He just wanted to make sure we didn't walk in on anything terribly uncomfortable, so he decided to grab your attention first." Nathan replied.

"What does that even mean?" Kotetsu asked, slowly pulling himself into a sitting position.

However, his question was disregarded when Keith spoke up.

"What they mean is that we've come to help you move, Kotetsu! With seven of us working, we can get it done much faster!" Keith replied, "I also brought my truck so we can transport things easier."

"And I brought my car," Nathan added.

"Hey, thanks guys!" Kotetsu smiled brightly.

"Well come on!" Pao-Lin announced, "What are we waiting for, guys? Get off your butts and let's get packing!"

-xXx-

With everyone working together, they were able to get most of Kotetsu's things to Barnaby's, with the exception of a few things that Barnaby and Kotetsu could clear out the next day.

Antonio had suggested afterward that they all go out to eat and grab a drink at the pub together to celebrate a successful moving day. No one disagreed with this.

At the pub, they sat at their favorite table together and ordered dinner. Kotetsu and Barnaby sat side by side, with their shoulders brushing, whilst Barnaby's hand rested on Kotetsu's leg, Nathan on Antonio's lap, Pao-Lin sat next to them, and Keith finished off the circle. From down below them, they could hear piano music and a pretty female voice singing.

"Oh, there's Karina." Nathan declared as they looked down and watched her playing the piano. Everyone else followed their gaze and they listened for a while.

"Good! Now there's no need for me to worry about her anymore!" Keith said. He sighed deeply, like some weight was lifted off his shoulders.

They listened through an entire song. When it finished, they cheered.

"Great job, Karina!" Kotetsu exclaimed. He stood up and waved at her, unintentionally making an embarrassing scene. She glared at him, scoffed, said something to a bartender, and then got up from the piano, and disappeared behind the curtains in the back corner towards the restrooms.

Kotetsu frowned and sat back down. As he did, Barnaby patted him on the shoulder.

"What is with her lately?" he asked his friends.

Nathan and Pao-Lin exchanged glances.

"Poor thing's just been upset lately, is all. Emotions are difficult for a teenager." Nathan replied, although Kotetsu got the sense that they knew more than they let on.

"I hope she'll be okay." Keith said.

There was a murmur of agreement followed by a brief silence. Kotetsu was confused.

"Oh! Sky High!" Nathan broke the silence, "Can we see a picture of the new baby?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course!" He pulled out his phone and brought up a picture. "Here she is." He showed it off to the group. The photo depicted a little cream-colored golden retriever puppy.

"Awww, she's so cute!" Nathan exclaimed, "I could just eat her up."

The phone was passed around to the rest of the heroes, accompanied by a chorus of "Awws".

-xXx-

After that, the rest of their dinner was spent engaged in pleasant conversation, and it would end rather late. Keith had left earlier to do his usual night patrol, and Pao-Lin was asleep. Nathan carried her in one arm, and supported Antonio with their other, leading them both out the door and toward their bright red car.

"Goodnight you two," they said, waving at Kotetsu and Barnaby, who were still seated at the table, "Take care now."

"See ya around, guys." Kotetsu replied. With that, Nathan was out the door, accompanied with their two charges.

"Should we head home too, Bunny?"

"Yeah." the blonde yawned, "I'll drive. You drank, I didn't."

"K. I was gonna ask you to drive anyway." Kotetsu yawned.

With that, the two left the bar and went home to their apartment, crashing in their bed almost immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Couple Bickering Next Door**

An Account of the Domestic Life of Tiger and Barnaby

Chapter 1-2: Getting Settled

The next morning, Tiger and Barnaby moved the last of Tiger's things into their now shared apartment. Pao Lin and Ivan stopped by in the morning to help them clean up a bit more. Keith showed up a little later with homemade lunch for everyone.

Once they'd eaten, they cleaned up a bit more before everyone met up with Nathan, Antonio, and Karina at the training facility for some evening exercise. Karina was stand-offish and rude once more, giving both Kotetsu and Barnaby the cold shoulder.

"Seriously, what is with her?" Kotetsu exclaimed for about the fifth time that day, after Karina had ran off to the restroom. He was currently on a mat on the floor doing a partner stretch with Barnaby.

"Oh, you know how teenagers are. It's her hormones." Nathan said nonchalantly.

"Yeah..."

A dark hand patted Kotetsu on the shoulder and Nathan smiled brightly, "Don't take it personally, alright."

"It's her time of the month." Pao-Lin chimed in.

"Hello! TMI!" Kotetsu flushed with embarrassment.

Nathan chuckled, "I'm sure that that was personal information she didn't want you to share, honey." They scolded gently.

"Right, sorry..." Pao-Lin ran her hand through her short crop of blonde hair.

However, they exchanged knowing glances. Both were very clearly aware of the real reason she was acting the way she was acting.

"Ahem, anyway!" Nathan clapped their hands together, "How about I lead some stretches!"

"Sounds good!" Keith agreed.

-xXx-

After Nathan's yoga session, Kotetsu and Barnaby headed back to their apartment to start unpacking.

Barnaby unlocked the door and pushed it open, clicking on the light of the cold apartment. The main room was currently a mess, as there were boxes strewn about, waiting to be unpacked. Because of their team effort, all the big furniture had been set up already. Now, it was a matter of organizing everything that was in the boxes.

"So…where should we start?" Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck.

"We should get some of your clothes put away. I cleared out one of my closets for you."

"Sounds like a plan."

Together, they carried the overflowing big box that had Kotetsu's clothes in it and set it on top of the neatly made king bed in the middle of the room. The room had already been divided into two sides. There were two long closets on each side of the room, each with mirrors on the sliding doors. On the right side, which was Barnaby's side, there was a small desk. In front of the bed, placed up against the wall, were the two mismatched dressers, with Kotetsu's being the smaller of the two. Kotetsu's little television had been placed on top of his dresser, but had yet to be plugged in.

Barnaby opened Kotetsu's long closet. It was completely empty, minus a couple of boxes on the top shelving. There also some hooks hanging in there on both ends for Kotetsu's hats. Together, they began to fill it. Barnaby passed the clothes from the box, and Kotetsu hung them up how he wanted. Once that was done, they unpacked the toiletries and then moved to the kitchen.

"I still don't understand why you insisted on keeping the stove top tea kettle when I have an electric one that works just fine." Barnaby commented as he set the old, rusty dented kettle down in one of the cupboards.

"I've had it since college. It was a parting gift from my mom."

"No wonder why it looks so old."

"Hey!" Kotetsu replied, slightly offended.

"I'm just messing with you." Barnaby playfully swatted at his shoulder, "Old man." He smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Kotetsu waved him off, "…Though, if I'm the old man, and you're the attractive young one, doesn't that make you my trophy wife? or…husband…Boyfriend…?"

"Okay. Point taken."

"So now you're Bunny the Trophy Husband." Kotetsu smiled mischievously, poking the blonde in the chest.

"No." Barnaby replied, "Bunny is already bad enough."

"Fine. Fine."

Barnaby lifted something from the box of kitchen items. It was a ceramic mug with a child's colorful drawings and the phrase "#1 Dad" in scratchy handwriting.

"Is this from Kaede?" Barnaby asked.

"Yeah. It was a Father's Day present Mom helped her make for me. I use it almost every morning."

"That's cute." Barnaby carefully set it in one of the cupboards with his own mugs. "So what does she think of this whole thing?" he asked, "Of us, I mean."

"She's…actually pretty happy about it. She's happy that I'm happy and she's excited about the fact that you are now one of her parental figures. You know how big a fan she is of you."

Barnaby chuckled and adjusted his glasses.

"I told her she could come visit once we've gotten settled in."

"Yeah, definitely."

"How do you feel about it?" Kotetsu asked.

"You mean about the fact that I technically have a daughter now?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you know how much I love kids." Barnaby said, "I'm a little nervous since she's almost a teenager, but I'm also looking forward to it. I want to do the best I can to be the best parental figure I can be." He finished sincerely.

Kotetsu smiled, "I'm glad to hear that…N-not to say that I would have doubted you in the first place…but…"

"Yeah. I know what you mean."

Upon this, Kotetsu went in for an embrace. Barnaby returned the gesture warmly. Kotetsu didn't really need to say anything for him to understand that it meant "I love you, and I believe in you."

When they let go of one another, they kissed chastely and then went back to unpacking. There was a bit of silence as both got lost in their thought streams. The only sound was the clattering as they put things away.

Once they finished, Kotetsu's stomach growled loudly.

"Dinner?" he questioned.

"Yeah." Bunny agreed.

"The usual?"

"Sounds good to me." The blonde replied, "Your turn to cook."

"K."

He left Kotetsu in the kitchen, counting on him _not_ to destroy it and started to unpack the boxes that would load the bookshelves.

A bit later, they were seated on the couch again. They ate dinner together, did the dishes together, and then sat and watched a movie together on the couch, sharing a small blanket. When they movie was over, they put on pajamas and crawled into bed and slept wrapped in each other's' embrace.

Actions


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